Ask the pro's what you think of these shots. I'd REALLY like to learn how to take better shots, and any advice/criticism you guys can offer would be greatly appreciated!

First off, I don't think any of us on here are pros.
That said, the best way to improve your photography is to learn how to use your camera, study other photos, and take lots of photos.
When you are studying other photographs, decide what is good and what is bad about the photo. For the things that are good, be very analytical. Try to understand exactly how that particular good characteristic was captured. Is it the lighting, the composition, etc.? Then try and emulate those things in your own photography and adapt them to your own style. If you find something you don't like about a photo (yours or someone else's), figure out how to avoid that mistake in your future shots.

Some comments about your shots..

Your first two shots suffer from the same problems. First of all, the lighting is from the back side. That is OK in some situations, but here it pulls the eye away from the subject.
Also, the background is very busy and distracting. If you are going to make shots like this, check to make sure there aren't a bunch of things in the background. A plain wall is better than a bunch of out-of-focus stuff. For example, in the first photo, your eye is naturally drawn to the out of focus orange log (?) above the snake to the right. Even when you look at the snake, you find yourself noticing the log. So always pay attention to what else is in the frame.

The last shot suffers from two minor flaws. The first is that the snake is moving out of the frame and only seems secondary to the photo. Again it seems like a photo of a log with a snake in the foreground.
Also, notice that the neck is sharply focused but the eye isn't. Always make sure the eye is in focus.

You are off to a good start. The trick to improving is to analyze why you aren't satisfied with your shots yet. Don't just say "oh, I can't take good photos". Figure out what you are doing wrong and fix those problems. Be your own harshest critic.
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Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas

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